Typewriter ribbon spool and the like



.. .M wi? Feb. 11, 1959 2,873,839

J. w. H. BISHOP TYPEWRITER RIBBON SPOOL AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet '1Filed Dec. 15, 1955 FIG.

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR JOHN W. H. BISHOP.

ATT RNEYS.

Feb. 17, 1959 w BlsHop 7 2,873,839

TYPEWRITER RIBBON SPOOL AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 15, 1955 v I .3Sheetg-Shet, 2 I FIG. 7. L FIG. 8.

59 0 F l6; l3.

INVENTOR JOHN W. H. BISHOP.

BY if FT ZRNEYSW Feb. 17, 1959 Filed Dec. 15, 1955 J. W. H. BISHOPTYPEWRITER RIBBON SPOOL AND THE LIKE V 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 1 JOHNW. H. BISHOP.

Unite The present invention relates to a spool for an, inked ribbon forbusiness machines.

States Patent both halves resiliently arranged for firm engagement withthe sleeve, such shaft also having collared thereon a ver- In manyoflice business machines which require inked ribbons, such astypewriters, calculators, adding machines and the like, the inked ribbonis mounted on a pair of spools and, during the operation of the machinethe ribbon pays off from one spool and is wound up on the other.

Basically, in current types of typewriters there are two principal typesof spool holders in use; (1) the shaft type which is accommodated in asleeve provided in the spool; and (2) the noiseless core type which hasan enlarged hub which has to be accommodated within the spool. In theshaft type of spool holder, the shaft on various makes of typewritersvaries in diameter from .100" to .250. The driving means for the spoolsalso differ in size and radial distance fromthe axis of the shaft- Thus,up to the present time each of these different sizes of shafts anddriving means required a special spool having a sleeve of a diameterapproximately the same as the shaft diameter and a properly spacedopening or lug to cooperate with the driving means. With the noiselesscore types, the hubs have been more or less standardized and usuallyhave ribbon receiving slots and a ribbon reversing lever which isnormally retained in flush position with the outer periphery of the hubby the ribbon when wound on the hub and said lever is urged outwardlyfrom the hub when the ribbon has been unwound and is ready for reversedriving.

In the various types of typewriter spools the ribbon attaching meanstakes one of the following forms: an axially disposed prong foraccommodating a loop on the ribbon; an eyelet on the ribbon forpositioning on the inner side of a slot; a prong for engagement with theribbon; or a hook on the ribbon for engagement with a bridge on the hub.On all noiseless core portable typewriters, a protective cover disc isprovided to hold the spool or ribbon from dropping off from the hubsupport when the typewriter is carried in its case and also in thenoiseless core type standard typewriter such disc is employed to holdthe ribbon from rising on the hub in use due to centrifugal force whenthe machine is operated at high speed and to prevent the eyeleted end ofthe ribbon from being ejected from the hub slot at the reversing Imoment due to the action of the reversing lever tending to encourage theribbon upward.

The driving mechanism for most spools used on type (1) spool holdersconsists of a vertically disposed pin carried by a flange collared onthe driving shaft which pinregisters with an opening formed in the lowerdisc of the spool. The driving means on the noiseless core type of spoolis usually provided with a spline formed on the spool which mates with aslot provided in the hub of the noiseless core. In some instances thedriving shaft is screw-threaded at its upper end and a nut isused totighten the spool down into driving engagement with a collared member onthe driving shaft. Another type of spindle drive is a combination of alongitudinally split shaft with tically disposed pin for drivingengagment with a hole in the bottom disc of the spool. As a matter offact, almost every business machine using an inked ribbon employs aribbon spooldeveloped for the particular machine. Thus, through theyears there has been developed a considerable variety of spools whichare not interchangeable for use on difierent makes of machine. I

The object of the present invention is to provide asubstantially-universal ribbon spool adaptable for use with most typesof spool holders and driving mechanisms.

A further object of the invention is to provide a substantiallyuniversal ribbon spool whereby stationers and other ribbon supply housescan materially reduce their inventory of spooled ribbons withoutreducing their ability to serve their customers.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, not specificallyenumerated, I accomplish by providing a spool consisting of one or twodiscs connected to an enlarged hollow hub and a separate adapter havinga circumferential wall for frictional holding engagement withingsuch'hub, whereby the spool can be used with most makes of typewritershaving either the spindle type or the hub type of spool holders providedwith any type of ribbon attaching means, and with any type of ribbon{means for cooperation with the adapter.

reversing mechanism located within the hub. Preferably, the hub of thespool is formed with the ribbon attaching means and with an inwardlydirected spline for driving engagement with the adapter, and withintegral resilient The adapter has two resilient arms which preferablyextend substantially radially inwardly from the circumferential wall toprovide a split expansible sleeve for accommodating the various sizes ofspindles currently found in the shaft type v p of typewriter spoolsupports. The resilient arms provide at the periphery of the adapter awide-angled V- slot within which is mounted a reversing lever capable offunctioning in the same manner as the reversing lever foundon thosemakes of typewriters wherein such lever is located within the hub of thespool driving mechanism.-

Diametrically opposite the V-slot, the wall of the adapter is formedwith an inwardly directed, external groove which serves to accommodatethe spline provided on the spool. Also arranged around the periphery ofthe adapter are a plurality of tightening ribs and detents to machinesand the other end will be placed in downward facing position on othermachines. For example, one end of the adapter is provided with drivinglugs to fit the Royal typewriter ribbon-supporting spindle while theother end is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced holeslocated radially from the center in which the drivingpins on otherspindle types engage. Both ends are provided with large central holes toallow for the various sizes and conditions of the several types ofspindles. On the noiseless core types of machines, the adapter is notrequired and may be discarded.

The construction of my universal ribbon spool will be better understoodfrom the detailed description which follows when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of a spool proper embodyingcertain featuresof the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. l as viewed from the left sidethereof. I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of Fig. 1 when viewed from the right sidethereof.

Fig. 4 is a diametrical section taken along the plane of the line 4-4 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a development of the hub portion of thespool shown in Figs. 1to 4.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the development shown in Fi .5.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of an adapter formingpart of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the hub portion of the adapter.

Figs. 9 and 10 are plan views of the end closures of the adapter.

Fig. 11 is a development of the hub shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 11a is an end elevation of the development shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 12. is a side elevation of the reversing lever shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 13 is a development of the reversing lever shown in Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a bottom plan view of an assembly of the spool proper shownin Figs. 1 to 6 and the adapter shown in Figs. 7 to 13.

Fig. 15 is a section through the hub of the spool shown in Fig. 14, saidsection being taken at a right angle to the axis of the assembly.

4 with struck-up reinforcing ribs 35 which provide the outer faces ofsaid discs with an axially-extending, depressed portion 36 substantiallyin axial alignment with the window opening 27. Diametrically oppositethe depressed portion 36 each disc 23 is formed with an opening 27'which is in axial alignment with the ribs 28.

The adapter 21 consists of four parts, namely, a hollow hub 37, endclosure members 33 and 39, and a reversing lever 40. The hollow hub 37,like the hollow hub 22 of the spool proper, is formed of a fiat stamping41 from resilient sheet material, preferably metal, the development ofwhich is shown in Fig. ll. This stamping is likewise symmetrical withrespect to both its longitudinal and transverse center lines, and alongits longitudinal edges is formed with spaced cars 42. The body of thestamping along the longitudinal center line between the endmost cars isformed with elliptical recesses 43 and adjacent one edge of the stampingin proximity to the endmost ears with holes 44. Beyond the endrnost cars42 the longitudinal edges of the material are cut back a distance equalto the thickness of the material, as shown at 45, and at the ends of thestamping said longitudinal edges are bent or flared outwardly, as shownat 46 (see Figs. 11 and 11a), The stamping of Fig. 11 is bent toReferring to the drawings, the spool for an inked ribbon for businessmachines and more particularly, typewriters, may be said to consist of aspool proper 20 shown in Figs. 1 to 6, and a separable adapter 21 shownin Figs. 7 to 13, the spool as a whole being capable of use with certainmakes of business machines, while the spool proper after the adapter hasbeen removed therefrom is capable of use with other makes of machines.

The spool proper 20 as herein shown consists of a hollow, generallycylindrical hub 22, to each end of which is secured a substantiallyfiat, annular disc 23 extending .outwardly perpendicularly to the hub.The hub 22 is preferably formed as a stamping 24 (Fig. 5) from a flatsheet of resilient material, preferably metal, which is bent or rolledinto a cylinder and held in such form by the discs 23 to which it isattached, in a manner presently to be described. The stamping 24 is ofgenerally symmetrical form with respect to both its longitudinal andtransverse center lines and along its longitudinal edges has a pluralityof tabs or cars 25 lying in the plane of the material. At each end thestamping 24 is formed with rectangular cut-outs 26 which, when broughttogether, provide a window or opening 27 in the hub. At either side ofthe transverse center line, the stamping is cut and bent inwardly toprovide two pairs of aligned, parallel ribs 28 which, when the stampingis bent into cylindrical form, extend inwardly of the hub and provide aspline. Flanking the spline at substantially equal distances is a pairof struck-up spear prongs 29 upon which the end of an inked ribbon maybe secured when such ribbon is to be wound on the spool. To either sideof the spear prongs the material is struck-up to provide opposed pockets30 to accommodate a hooked tab provided on the end of the inked ribbonfor certain makes of machines for securing such ribbon to the spool.Adjacent the open end of the pockets the material is cut away to provideopenings 31. Beyond the pockets 30 and cut-out portions 31 the materialhas substantially U-shaped slots 32 cut therein to provideleaf-springs'33, each of which near its free end is formed with a detentor dimple 34. The annular discs 23 are formed at their inner peripherieswith circumferentially spaced, shallow recesses (not shown) similar tothe recesses 52 in the end closure members of the adapter, hereinafterdescribed, said recesses being of a depth corresponding to the thicknessof the sheet material 24 to accommodate the ears 25 which are then bentover the discs to hold the hub and discs in assembled relation. Thediscs 23 are preferably formed provide the hub 37, as shown in Fig. 8,said hub having a pair of reentrant, opposed arms 47 which terminate attheir free ends in arcuate portions as to provide a socalled splitsleeve which is substantially concentric with the wall of the hub. Thearcuate portions 48 serve to frictionaliy engage and locate spindles ofdifferent diameters truly coaxial with the adapter. The outwardlyflaring ends of the split sleeve will facilitate engagement of theadapter over spindles of diiferent diameter. The reentrant arms 47, byvirtue of their construction, provide a hinged connection at it? withthe hub proper where they extend inwardly, and the walls of said armsprovide an axially-extending recess 50 which is herein referred-to as awide-angled V-slot. Diametrically opposite the V-slot St), the wall ofthe hub is bent inwardly to provide an axially-extending, outwardly opengroove 51 of a width to snugly receive the ribs 28 or spline on thespool proper. To hold the hub 37 in its desired bent form, the endclosure members 33 and 39 are secured to the hub by the cars 42 thereofengaging within peripheral slots 52 in the end closures and over whichclosures they are subsequently bent. Each of the end closures 38 and 39is formed with a central hole 53 which is of larger diameter than thesplit sleeve provided at the inner ends of the resilient arms 47. Eachof the end closures is provided with meansstruck-up lugs 54-in closure38 and circumferentially angularly spaced holes 55 in closure 33 adaptedfor cooperative engagement with cooperating means on the spool drivingspindles found on different makes of typewriters for rotating theadapter, and, in turn, the spool, where such spool and adapter areconjointly used. The holes 55 are of a size and so radially spaced fromthe axis of the hub to insure wobble-free cooperation with the slightlydifferent diameters of pins and slightly different radial spacingthereof on different makes of machines. The end closure 38 is formedwith a peripheral recess or cut-out portion 56 for accommodating thereversing lever 40 in its pivotal action hereinafter to be explained,while the closure 39 has'a peripheral cut-out recess 57 for registrywith the groove 51 in the hub.

The reversing lever it? is formed from a fiat stamping as shown in Fig.13, approximately one-half of the lever beingenlarged, as shown at 53,for a purpose presently to be described. Said enlarged portion is formedwith trunnions 59 adapted to engage in the holes is which will belocated within the V-slot in the hub 37, and, in view of the resiliencyof the arms 47, said trunnions may be forced into position after theassembly of the end closures on the hub 37 or prior to the end closuresbeing secured to the hub 37. The stamping from which lever 40 is formedis angularly bent at 60 adjacent the trunnions 59 and again'bent at 61at a right angle,and again bent at an acute angle, as shown at 62.Thespecificshape to which the lever is bent is to locate the trunnionsabo've the center of gravity of the lever for the purpose of creating agravity force-bias on the lever when mounted on its trunnions so thatthe heavier lower extending armthereof will drop downwardly and withdrawtheupper double bent portion of the arm outwardly from the slot 50 whennot constrained to do so by the wound ribbon.

In the assembly of the adapter within the spool proper it will beevident that by inserting the adapter into the hollow hub of the spool,the groove 51 on the adapter will accommodate thespline provided by theribs 28 in the spool hub and that, by virtue of the acute angle formedat the upper end of the reversing lever, it will be moved inwardly intothe V-slot upon engaging the inner periphery of the spool hub and will,when the adapter is inserted within the hub, permit said double angularportion of'the lever to pass outwardly through the window opening 27. Itwill be noted that the cut-out recess 56 in the end closure 38 will thusregister with the V-slot 50 and that the end of the spline ribs 28 willengage a portion of the closure :38 which is diametrically opposite thecut-out recess 56 and thus limit the extent to which the adapter can beinserted in the spool. To eliminate play' and truly centralize the splitsleeve of the adapter within the spool hub when the parts are assembled,the dimples 34 in the leaf-springs 33 will engage in the openings 43. Tofurther insure against looseness in' the assembly, the hub 37 of theadapter may be formed with struck-up ribs 63 which, by virtue of theresilient character of the hub 37, will hold said hub in snug engagementwith the inner peripheral wall of the spool.

The spool proper 20, with the adapter 21 removed, may be used on allRemington typewriters currently using the noiseless core type of spooland on all Underwood electric, Underwood Standard Model No. 150 (exceptGray), Model No. 160 and subsequent models, and on all Underwoodportables commencing with 1956 production. The resilient fingers will.also serve to frictionally hold the spool on the core and thuseliminate the need for the protective cover discs now employed. Theopposed pockets 30 in the spool hub permit the attaching of a ribbon'toI the hub if the said ribbon is supplied with a hook. Two

oppositely disposed pockets are provided so that the hook may beattached irrespective of whether the spool is mounted on the right orleft hand driving spindles and also permits the attaching of the ribbonregardless of which disc of the spool is facing upward.

By use of the adapter, the spool proper can be converted to an almostuniversal inked ribbon typewriter spool, in that, after insertion of theadapter in the spool, if the spool is placed in the machine so that thetwo driving lugs 54 are facing downward, the spool will function on theRoyal Standard and Halda standard and portable typewriter. Although boththe Royal and Halda spools currently require a spring to actuate thereversing lever, the spool of the present invention eliminates thenecessity for this spring as the lever is fulcrumed above its center ofgravity and force-biased by gravity so that the lower extending arm willdrop down even though the spool is subjected to a temporary positioningat an angle of 90 with respect to the horizontal.

If the adapter is inserted so that the driving holes 55 face downwardly,the spool may be used, amongst others, on the following machines:Underwood Standard, prior to Model No. 150; Underwood Portable, prior to1956 Model; Royal PortableyTeletype; Hermes Standard and Portable;Corona-No. 5; Adler Standard and Portable; Monroe Adding 10 key; andSundstrand Bookkeeping Models B, C, and D, as well as various othermachines, such as Norm, Erika and Imperial, Models 65 and 66.

The outstanding advantage of the present spool is that the ribbon winderneed only wind a single design of spool, and thus permit a greater massproduction of center of gravity.

winding which requires an investment in stock of one typespool andadapter, as against the stocking of many types. To the retail stationer,the purchase from the ribbon winder of spools with the adaptersalready'in} serted will thus require the stationers inventory to be cutby a very considerable amount, as one wrapped and bored spool will serveto furnish almost any spool requiredby the customers. Where a customerrequires a spool for a machine using the noiseless core type drivingspindle, the stationer need merely instruct the customer to pushthe'adapter out and throw it away, or the stationer may remove theadapter when supplying the spool to the customer. 1

Although there has been shown and describeda preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be understood that details of construction of thevarious parts may be varied within the rangev of engineering andmechanical skill without departing from the spirit of the invention asing a central expansible split sleeve which is'formed, at

least in part, by the free end of a resilient arm extending inwardlyfrom the hub, and a disc secured to and sub stantially closing one endof the hub.

2. A spool for an inked ribbon comprising a hub having two resilientarms extending inwardly of said hub, each arm terminating at its freeend in an arcuate portion substantially concentric with the hub, and adisc secured to one end of the hub perpendicular thereto.

3. A spool for an inked ribbon comprising a hubhaving two opposedresilient arms extending substantially radially inwardly of said hub,each arm terminating at its free end in an arcuate portion substantiallyconcentric with the hub, and a disc secured to one end of the hub Iperpendicular thereto.

' hub having two integral resilient arms extending inwardly of said hub,each arm terminating atits free end in an arcuate portion substantiallyconcentric with the hub providing a split expansible sleeve, a discclos-' ing one end of the hub, said disc having a central openingtherein of larger diameter than the split sleeve, and means on said discadapted for cooperative engagement with means on a spool driving spindlefor frotating the spool.

6. A spool for an inked ribbon comprising a hollow hub, the peripheralwall of which has two integral opposed reentrant resilient arms, eachterminating at its free.end in an arcuate portion substantiallyconcentric with the peripheral wall, said arms forming at theirreentering portion of the peripheral wall a wide-angled slot, and a discsecured to one end of the hub perpendicular thereto.

7. A spool according to claim 6 wherein a reversing lever is pivotallymounted for movement in the slot.

8. A spool according to claim 7 wherein the lever has divergent armsadjacent the pivotal mounting, one of said arms being adapted to be heldin'the slot by an inked ribbon when wound on the spool and said leverbeing force-biased to move the said one of said arms outwardly of saidslot when the ribbon uncovers the slot.

9. A spool according to claim 8 wherein the lever is gravity activatedby being pivotally mounted aboveits' 10. A spool assembly for an inkedribbon consisting of a spool proper and a separable adapter, andcooperating means on said parts for holding them in assembled relation,the spool proper comprising a tubular hub formed asrasse of resilientmaterial having means for attaching a ribbon to the hub; the separableadapter comprising a hollow hub having an outer diameter to snugly fitwithin the tubular hub of the spool proper, and a central expansiblesplit sleeve adapted to fit onto driving spindles of different diameter.

I 11... A spool assembly according to claim 10 wherein the tubular hubon the spool proper and the hub on the adapter, have the cooperatingmeans for holding the spool proper and hub in separable assembledrelation, 7

12. A spool assembly according to claim 10 wherein the tubular hub ofthe spool proper has an inwardly directed resilient detent and the hubon the adapter has a complementally positioned recess for receiving saiddetent.-

13. A spool assembly according to claim 10 wherein the tubular hub onthe spool proper has an inwardly directed axially extending spline and awindow opening therein diametrically opposite to the spline, the hub onthe separable adapter has a spline groove for engaging the spline, andthe split sleeve on the adapter is provided by the free ends-of twoopposed reentrant arms integrally formed with the peripheral wall of theadapter being bent into arcuate form substantially concentric with theaxis of the adapter, said reentrant arms forming with said peripheralwall a wide-angled slot disposed diametrically opposite the splinegroove, and an angled reversing lever fulcrumed in said slot, one arm ofsaid lever being movable through the window opening in the spool proper.

14. A spool assembly according to claim 13' wherein the arms of thelever diverge adjacent the fulcrum, the upper of said arms being adaptedto be held wholly within the window overlying the slot by an inkedribbon when wound on the spool and said lever being forcebiased to movesaid upper arm outwardly through said window when the ribbon uncoversthe window.

15. A spool assembly according to claim 13 wherein the arms of the leverdiverge adjacent the fulcrum, the upper of said arms being adapted to beheld wholly within the window overlying the slot by an inked ribbon whenwound on the spool and said lever being force-biased to move said upperarm outwardly through said window when the ribbon uncovers the window,the upper of said arms having a V-bend thereinwhereby, in moving theadapter into the spool proper, the upper portion of the V-bent arm will,upon engaging the hub of the spool proper,-be moved inwardly into thewide-angled slot in the adapter.

. 16. A spool assembly according to claim 13 wherein the spool properincludes an outwardly directed disc flange extending perpendicularly tothe axis of the tubular hub, and the adapter has an end closure formedwith a central opening therein of larger diameter than the split sleeve,said end closure serving to limit the insertion of the adapter into thespool proper by engagement with an end of the spline on the spoolproper.

17. A spool assembly according to claim 16 wherein said end closure onthe adapter has means adapted for cooperative engagement with means on aspool driving spindlefor rotating the adapter and spool.

18. A spool assembly according to claim 16 wherein the lever isfulcrumed above its center of gravity, and the other arm of the lever isdisposed below the disc flange on the spool proper.

. 19. A spool foran inked ribbon comprising a substantially cylindricaltubular hub and a disc flange extending perpendicularly outwardly at oneend of the tubular hub, said tubular hub being formed of resilient sheetmaterial having means for attaching a ribbon to the hub and a partiallycut-out portion providing a leaf-spring, said leaf-spring being formedwith a detent.

20.. A spoolaccording to claim 19 wherein said tubular hub is formedwith a pair of inwardly directed, struck-up, axially extending ribsproviding a spline.

21. A spool according to claim 20 wherein the disc: is formed with anopening therethrough extending out-- wardly from the spline.

22. A spool according to claim 20 wherein the tubular hub has a windowopening diametrically opposite the spline.

23. An adapter for a spool for an inked ribbon comprising a hollow hubhaving centrally thereof a split resilient sleeve adapted to fit ontodriving spindles of dit ferent diameter and means on said hub adaptedfor cooperative engagement with a spool for an inked ribbon for rotatingsaid spool.

24. An adapter for a spool for an inked ribbon, com prising a hollow hubformed of a strip of resilient sheet. material, the end portions ofwhich are bent inwardly substantially radially of said hub to providetwo opposed resilient arms terminating at their free ends in a splitsleeve substantially concentric with the hub, and a disc secured to andsubstantially closing one end of the hub.

25. An adapter according to claim 24 wherein the wall of the hub is bentinwardly to provide an outwardly open, axially extending groove. ,26.An. adapter according to claim 24 wherein the opposed resilient armsform at the periphery of the hub a slot and a lever is fulcrumed in saidslot adjacent one end of the hub whereby at least part of the lever willbemovable into the slot.

27. An adapter according to claim 26 wherein the lever has divergentarms adjacent the fulcrum and said lever is fulcrumed above its centerof gravity so that the part of the lever that is movable into the slotwill normally be biased out of the slot.

28. An adapter according to claim 26 wherein the wall of the hub is bentinwardly to provide an axially extending groove disposed diametricallyopposite to the lever-containing slot.

29. An adapter according to claim 28 wherein the end closure is formedwith a central opening therein of larger diameter than the split sleeve,said end closure being at the end of the hub adjacent which the lever isfulcrumed, said closure having a clearance for movement of said leverand a peripheral portion overlying an end of the axially extendinggroove.

30. An adapter according to claim 28 wherein the end closure is formedwith a central opening therein of larger diameter than the split sleeve,and with the means adapted for cooperative engagement with means on aspool driving spindle, for rotating the adapter.

31. An adapter according to claim 24 wherein the disc closure has acentral opening larger than the diameter of the split sleeve.

32. A spool for an inked ribbon comprising a substantially cylindricalone-piece tubular hub and a disc flange extending perpendicularlyoutwardly at each end of the hub and rigidly connected thereto, said hubbeing formed with a pair of circumferentially spaced inwardly directedstruck-up axially extending ribs providing a spline and with a windowopening diametrically opposite the spline.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES IATENTSKuckhofi Feb. 18, 1941 aha. My

